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HR Management

OSHA goes postal on Eagan USPS facility

07/15/2010
In response to employee complaints about electrical hazards at the U.S. Postal Service’s processing center in Eagan, OSHA in June fined the post office $210,000 for willful violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Deloitte adds programs for minority women

07/15/2010
Deloitte has added several programs to attract, develop and advance its minority women employees at the auditing and financial consulting firm. National Managing Principal Barbara Adachi says the firm’s focus on a diverse workforce is “a smart business strategy we continue to pursue, even in a turbulent economy.”

Feds propose new HIPAA privacy rules

07/13/2010
The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed new rules to strengthen HIPAA’s confidentiality and security measures. While your health insurance carrier will have primary responsibility for compliance, you need to be able to answer employees’ questions about their new privacy rights.

Using the Supreme Court’s model to prevent employment lawsuits

07/13/2010

You know you have an obligation to eliminate discrimination, harassment and retaliation. You know you have to make sure employees don’t harass co-workers or subordinates, or harm customers and others. On the other hand, you know applicants and employees have a right to privacy that is protected by state and federal laws. It’s a balancing act: Just how do you protect workers on the one hand, while respecting their privacy on the other?

Make it one of HR’s goals: Ensure everyone gets training on harassment

07/13/2010

Courts have long said that employers are supposed to be proactive about preventing and stopping sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers know or should know that simply having a sexual harassment policy in place isn’t enough—they have to aggressively enforce that policy. What employers may not fully realize is that no one within the organization is exempt from education, training and discipline.

New moms get mentors, extra time off at PwC

07/13/2010
PricewaterhouseCoopers is working to retain its working women by pairing them with other PwC moms and then allowing them to take up to five years off after a birth. “Mentor Moms” connects each new mother or mother-to-be with a colleague in her regional office who also is a working mom. Mentors offer support and guidance about the transition from maternity leave back to work.

The truth about employee wellness … and 7 ways to get workers to take it seriously

07/12/2010

Want your employees to take more responsibility for improving and protecting their health? Examine how you communicate with them about their benefits, says a new report from the Midwest Business Group on Health. Here are seven major findings from its new research, along with tips on using the information to trigger employee participation in wellness programs:

When you learn of possible harassment, investigate promptly, take fast action

07/09/2010

Employers that act fast when an employee complains about any form of harassment can almost always salvage what would otherwise be a very bad situation. The key is prompt investigation—followed by equally fast and decisive action if it turns out the complaint has merit.

Are there special requirements for training employees who do not speak English well?

07/09/2010
Q. Our company recently hired some employees who do not speak English as their first language. What are our obligations in training these employees?

Retain e-mails after receiving EEOC complaint

07/09/2010

When sued, employers must preserve all evidence in their possession that may concern the lawsuit and its underlying claims. That means that as soon as you receive an EEOC complaint, you should issue a litigation hold directing the retention of all electronic communications, such as e-mails. Don’t let employees make their own decisions about which e-mails they should keep.